Neighborhoods

New Orleans neighborhoods are where the culture and creativity of the Crescent City come to life. From the historic French Quarter to the elegant Garden District to the music-filled Marigny- there is great food, music...more

About New Orleans

New Orleans is a magical place with a unique culture and way of life. Explore our about New Orleans pages to learn more about the city in preparation for a trip you'll never forget!...more

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Festivals

It is said that New Orleans residents should have five good costumes ready to go at any given time. Celebration is at the core of the New Orleans' experience, and to get a true taste of the city, every visitor should...more

Nightlife

New Orleans has many distinct neighborhoods that offer nightlife options from incredible live music on Frenchmen Street to intimate cocktails just a neighborhood away. Harrah's Casino caters to the high rollers at heart...more

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New Orleans Cocktails

In New Orleans, a great drink is just as important as a great meal- and great music for that matter. Check out our list of New Orleans libations and the bars, pubs and lounges where they can be enjoyed....more

Traditional New Orleans Foods

Familiarize yourself with these dishes and be well prepared to savor forkfuls of the culture, tradition and recipe perfection that have earned New Orleans its culinary legacy....more

New Orleans publisher
transforms unique archival discovery into a book for the 21st century

March
2013 | New Orleans, Louisiana - The latest title from independent
publisher The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) presents the fascinating,
uncensored travelogue of a young Frenchman who ventured to New Orleans in 1729.

Recently
rediscovered and never before published, Marc-Antoine Caillot's buoyant memoir
has been translated from the original French and published, with an
introduction and annotations by THNOC staff historian Erin Greenwald, as A
Company Man: The Remarkable French-Atlantic Voyage of a Clerk for the Company
of the Indies. The book will be released Wednesday, April 17, 2013, with
a celebration and book signing at The Collection, 533 Royal St., from 6 to 8
p.m.

Caillot
was only 21 when he left his family in Paris to embark on his overseas
adventure. His assignment to Louisiana was hardly coveted: the colony was one
of the company's least desirable destinations, thanks to an unforgiving climate
and limited resources, and its capital, New Orleans, was only a decade
old.

Yet
with humor and insight, Caillot documents episodes major and minor-from the
Natchez Massacre to New Orleans's earliest documented Carnival celebration to
his own string of pranks and romantic escapades. His words speak with immediacy
across the centuries, illuminating racial and ethnic politics, environmental
concerns, and the birth of New Orleans's distinctive cultural mélange.

That
Caillot's intended audience was likely an intimate circle of friends-rather
than professional or royal supervisors-distinguishes his manuscript from other
travelogues of the period. In her introduction, Greenwald notes that his
account "was never subjected to censorship by the company or king, making it an
exceptional example of a fully narrative account, unhindered by the literary
conventions of polite society."

Caillot's
handwritten and illustrated manuscript endured an adventure almost as
intriguing as his own: it is believed to have languished in the library of an
Augustinian convent in France for well over a century. At some point it was
bound together with another, unrelated book. In 1939 a group of nuns brought it
to Canada. THNOC acquired it in 2004, and Greenwald spent several years
investigating the manuscript and the man who wrote it. Her research took her to
nine archives in France and several in the States, including THNOC's own
holdings.

Greenwald describes the immeasurable value of Caillot's narrative to the field
of colonial Louisiana history, noting that the manuscript may be one of the
field's most significant finds in well over a century.

###

Founded
in 1966, The Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center and
publisher dedicated to preserving the history and culture of New Orleans and
the Gulf South. Located in the heart of the French Quarter, The Collection
offers guided tours, free rotating exhibitions and a research facility. Visit www.hnoc.org or call (504)
523-4662 for details.